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Thursday, July 30, 2009

One of the best combinations in the world is pizza & ice cream. It was one of my favorites in childhood and still is. Just because we had weight loss surgery doesn't mean we have have to be denied one of life's pleasures.

This is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. We just have to be wise about how we enjoy. Pre-op it would have been a pint of Ben & Jerry's and 4 slices of Pizza Hut pizza. Not wise. Here's the wise and super yummy way I enjoy now...

Mix together milk, protein, and syrup. I used this gadget to mix it up. It makes it airy and lump free. If you don't have one just toss it in a blender on super high. You want it fluffy almost double in size. Pour into ice cream maker. Follow your machine's instructions for freezing. 5 minutes before done add brownies to ice cream maker. You can eat it right away it is soft serve-ish but I like to put it in the freezer to set for an hour.

If you double the batch of this or any of my Ice Cream recipes double everything but the protein powder... only so much we absorb per sitting so they say.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Last day of the heatwave so they say. I'll believe it when I don't feel it. We have pretty crummy weather people. I mean think about it if you loved weather, if weather was your life's passion, what made you all zingy would you really choose Southern California to be a weather person where the majority of the time (like 320 days a year) the weather report is: Sunny & Hot. Nope. You'd go to tornado alley or the hurricane areas. Places where there's real weather. My theory: we get the bottom of their class weather people or ex-football stars who just majored in meteorology while they were playing for the school's team ;) they probably didn't even take their own tests. So I don't hold much stock in what they say till I feel it (or don't feel it) as the case may be.

Well if they are right I might actually turn on my oven tomorrow but tonight I was still looking for quick & cool. Using the breast from a storebought Rotisserie Chicken makes this a super quick & easy dinner.

Monday, July 27, 2009

The weather is really odd this summer. We get pretty hot in my 'hood but normally we get a nice breeze in the evening that cools us down quick. Not this summer... triple digit days and we're staying near 80's till 10 PM. Ugghh. In this heat I'm looking for no-cook (well little cook) quick and cool meals. Here was my yummy lunch from yesterday...

Saturday, July 25, 2009

You guys know how much trouble I have getting in water... I am so bad. Most days if it wasn't for the water in my coffee I wouldn't get any in. I just don't like plain water. Blah.

Do not follow my lead. I pay for it. Big time.

I was a kidney stone sufferer pre-op and post-op when it's much easier to get dehydrated I have found myself many a night curled up on my bathroom floor in excruciating pain with a kidney stone attack. This will lead me to a few good weeks of drinking water and then the memory of the pain fades and I slack once again. Not good. Last attack I vowed to do better and I found a product that is helping.

GNC Wellbeing be-QUENCHED Packets

You get 14 in a box for $14.99 so not cheap but neither is an ER visit. So I'm biting the bullet. In this heatwave I've been drinking 1-2 a day. My local GNC carries them and it looks like they also have them at GNC.com online.

They are little drink mix tubes kind of like those Crystal Light on-to-go tubes but soooo much tastier. I don't like Crystal Light's aftertaste.

Serving Size 1 Packet Calories: 25 caloriesSugars 2 g Caffeine 50 mg

Sucralose is the sweetener plus fructose from the peach I'm gathering. These have a ton of electrolytes and vitamins in them so great for the summer. I love that they are something I can toss in my bag. Anywhere I go I can buy a bottle of water and have a yummy drink.

Two Flavors: Peach Green Tea (my favorite... it's not too peachy) and Raspberry (my Mum's fav. kind fruit punch-ish it's good but I like the peach green tea way better)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

We are in the middle of a gnarly heatwave. It's been humid and nasty which is really unusual for this area. We get hot but it's dry and we usually have a nice late afternoon wind that cools things down quick. Not this week.

I didn't feel like dinner type food... well I felt like it but I didn't feel like the work involved or having the oven heat up the house... so we packed my Super Cool Bento Box with enough snacks for 2 and went to enjoy the cool breeze from the lake again...

Monday, July 20, 2009

I think one of the most important things you can do as a weight loss surgery post-op is Plan Menus.

Here's why I plan:

Planning helps me make sure that I have a good balance of protein, fats, carbs. For example I wouldn't have a Tortilla Pizza on a day I ate Oatmeal for breakfast. I'd be pushing my personal carb limits. With a plan in place I can see something like that before it happens.

Planning helps me make the best choices. By having a plan in place I rarely get caught in the "crap grab." "Crap Grab" happens when you are hungry and have no plan. You grab any old crap that is around ;)

Planning helps me use leftovers wisely. I don't like waste and when I sit down and plan a day (or two) in advance I can figure out ways to use food in the most cost effective way.

Planning helps me not overeat. I know if I'm eating something that is not on my "menu" for the day (last minute invite to lunch, having a hungry day, popcorn at a movie) that I am eating extra... something that can either be dealt with with a little longer walk or later in the week with a lower calorie meal choice.

Starting out:

When I was first starting out on this journey I made a list of 3-4 Breakfasts, 3-4 Lunches, 3-4 Dinners and 3-4 Snacks that worked well for me post-op and I just rotated those for awhile. Slowly I added a few more new menu items and now... well you know I eat oodles of different things each week.

I plan a day or two advance nothing more than that. I write it down because that is the only way I will remember. My short term memory is well ummm short. I try and do it faithfully. Every once and awhile I come home late, too tired and I say, "Ehhh I'll just figure it out tomorrow" and sure enough the next day the "crap grab" begins and I find myself eating way more than I should have. Not a good thing.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

It's been triple digits in my 'hood this weekend. So you know my Ice Cream Maker has been doing overtime. I made Triple Peanut Butter Protein Ice Cream last night and for breakfast this morning I took 2 scoops of it and made a yummy Protein Shake.

Mix together milk, protein, syrup and PB2. I used this gadget to mix it up. It makes it airy and lump free. If you don't have one just toss it in a blender on super high. You want it fluffy almost double in size. Pour into ice cream maker. Follow your machine's instructions for freezing. 5 minutes before done add peanuts to ice cream maker. Microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds till thinned. Drizzle on top of ice cream.

You can eat it right away it is soft serve-ish but I like to put it in the freezer to set for an hour.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Every Easter my Sicilian Nonna would make a Ricotta Pie. This is pretty darn close to what it tasted like but so much better for you. My weight loss surgery friendly version eliminates the sugar and crust. Lots of sugar and white flour in Grandma's version.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

One of my favorite things to do is to have impromptu "Tidbit Parties" or "Carpet Picnics." All you need are good friends and/or family, yummy weight loss surgery friendly snacks, and the ability to value the little things in life.

After a really hot day a "Tidbit Party" outside on the patio in the cool night air was just what the doctor ordered.

How to:Preheat oven to 375. Spray one of your mini muffin pans with Pam. Using a cookie cutter or juice glass cut circles from tortillas/flatout wraps. Kitchen shears can help if your cookie cutter is dull edged. Place tortilla rounds over muffin openings.

Place the bottom of the second muffin pan on top of tortilla rounds and press down. Leave the tins together and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Lift second muffin tin off. You are left with little tartlet shells. Fill with sweet or savory fillings.

Monday, July 13, 2009

You know how I won First Place in the Lindsay Olive Cooking Contest at the Fair last month well I was originally going to enter the Hidden Valley Ranch sponsored contest. I won that contest a few years back with Artichoke Squares, a yummy quiche like dish. This was my tester recipe for this year's contest. It's yummy. It's an adaptation on my Turkey Slaw recipe if you've made that one before you'll love this. It's a great one for potlucks. A complete meal full of great stuff and weight loss surgery friendly of course...

You can add Vanilla or Chocolate Protein Powder to this I often do but I was having it with a Banana Nut Protein Muffin so I didn't add it this time. I had plenty of protein with the milk & cottage cheese and the muffin. Try this shake... even if you are not a cottage cheese fan. I promise you this is yum!

Friday, July 10, 2009

I get a fair share of emails asking me what I do with all my leftovers. A good question. After all, the beauty of having weight loss surgery is that we can only consume so much food. So I thought I'd give you guys an idea of how things get used up at my house because I hate waste. I call it "repurposing."

I generally freeze 1/2 a casserole and eat it for lunch the next week. Nice to have a day off from cooking but still have a warm yummy home cooked meal. You can also take a casserole and turn it into a pizza like this or this or this.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Had a banana that needed using and I was wide awake at 3AM so I decided I'd get up and make muffins. Mmmm there's nothing like starting the day off with the smell of baking bananas and cinnamon. Insomnia has it's benefits.

I made a Banana Nut Muffin a while back with Almond, Soy Flour and Oats which were yummy but I think I like this version with Spelt Flour even better. Oooh looks like I'll have to do a banana nut muffin side-by-side taste test. Yum!

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffin tin with Pam and set aside. Mix all ingredients (except topping ingredients) together till combined. Spoon into muffin tin. Crush topping together in a snack size Ziploc. Sprinkle a little on the tops of each muffin.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Remove pans from oven.

Allow to cool in the pan for 3 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in a sealed container to keep them soft and moist. Makes 24.

A couple of these babies split open and smeared with No Sugar Added Strawberry or Blueberry Jam = Heaven.

I always freeze half the batch. I wrap them in plastic wrap and toss them in a gallon freezer Ziploc bag then take them out a hour or so before I want to eat them. To reheat: you can nuke them to warm them up but I love to slice them in half and toast them. They get yummy crispy edges. Nom nom nom.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Watched the Michael Jackson Memorial this morning. Very moving. Whether you thought he was a misunderstood genius or a monster one thing is for sure his music is part of the soundtrack of our lives. I tend to believe (hope) he was just misunderstood.

Oh and I had to share these...

Eggface circa 1982 (11 years old) sporting my Michael Jackson pins

Well and errr ummm I might have danced "Thriller" on stage once or twice too...

"If you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make a change." ~Michael Jackson

Monday, July 6, 2009

Went to a restaurant last night and ordered a steak. 1/2 the steak I boxed up right away to bring home. My leftover steak became this yummy lunch. I had two slices with a fresh from the garden Tomato & Cucumber Salad.

How to make them: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I put 1 drop literally of olive oil on the cookie sheet and spread it around. Place tortilla on cookie sheet. Spread the sauce on the tortilla (pesto, marinara, alfredo, bruschetta sauce, whatever.) Put a slice of cheese on top of that and then any combination of toppings or leftovers I can find bumping around the fridge. Sprinkle with grated parmesan if desired. Pop in oven. 10 minutes exactly. Have the oven hot before you do the toppings **Do not let them sit. Pop them in the oven right away or the toppings will make the tortilla soggy versus the yummy crispy porn pictured above.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

I BBQ'd Zucchini Weenies for lunch and steaks for dinner and hung with my Mum (it's her Birthday today!) We luckily have a peek-a-boo view of the town's local firework display from the backyard so no battling traffic or parking. We watched those then came in and caught the NYC and Boston Pops firework shows on TV with a big bowl of Protein Ice Cream for dessert. Nom nom nom.

For dinner I BBQ'd steak topped with mushrooms sauteed in garlic and a sprinkle of thyme and made this experimental Scalloped Crab and Corn Bake on the side. It was soooo good! It would be perfect for a Brunch too and it is a great use for leftover corn...

Pour cheese sauce over onion mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a greased 2 qt. rectangle Pyrex casserole dish (Pam works great) Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

About Me

I had my guts rearranged (aka Weight Loss Surgery, RNY gastric bypass surgery June 2006) This blog is basically me rambling about my world. I also post recipes that I've adapted to make weight loss surgery friendly.
I love to cook.
I have always loved to cook. It's my creative outlet. I was scared that having weight loss surgery would put an end to my days in the kitchen but happily it did not. I actually get to be even more creative by analyzing a favorite recipe and seeing where I can make changes to make a healthier version of a pre-op favorite.